Labels are such a big part of life. We as people stick them all over others, and others stick them all over us. Some of them we’re born with, like “son” or “daughter”. Sometimes we give ourselves labels. Other labels are merit or personality based like “winner” or “smart”. Yet some labels are lies, created to get inside our heads and throw us off. All of these labels have expectations and pressures that go along with them. Letting labels define us can be dangerous business. They can lead us to forget who we really are and who we want to be. When other people come in and try to define us, we can lose our true identity.

Stereotypes and the assumptions that come with them are also extremely dangerous. Just pause and take a moment to think about it. People can take one look at you and decide that your identity is in your skin or hair color. That doesn’t even make sense. How can someone decide all of these deep and intricate things about me because of one of those trivial factors? People can take one look at how others dress and somehow decide that it has something to do with how nice someone is or how well they speak. How shallow is this? We all do it at one time or another. We need take the time to see how petty and irrational this way of thinking is and how damaging it can be. We as a society need to move away from stereotypes and learn to embrace individuals.

What if we stopped trying to define others based on assumptions and let them define themselves for us by their character and their actions? Don’t you want other people to let you show them who you are instead of them basing their image of you on trivial things? Everyone is an individual. There is so much power in our individuality. Don’t let anyone stereotype you, label you, or put you into their mold. It will only trip you up and confuse you in the end. Know who you are. Know your purpose and your goals. Don’t let anyone take that away from you. Embrace the truths about yourself that make you wonderful and not the lies and assumptions that only exist to hold you back. There can be so much freedom in embracing who you are.

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Since Valentine’s day is on Thursday, Dare 7 has a Valentine’s theme. Whether you have a Valentine or not you can make someone special’s day by secretly remembering them. Let us know what you decide to do!